COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 2 Ohio State rowing team travels to Iowa City, Iowa, this weekend to compete at the Big Ten Challenge Saturday, April 12. The Buckeyes will race Iowa and No. 17 Louisville at Lake MacBride, with competition starting at 9:30 a.m. ET.

LAST TIME OUT

The Buckeyes posted six wins April 5 at the Oregon State Classic at Dexter Lake in Lowell, Ore., earning victories over No. 9 Michigan, No. 11 Stanford, No. 20 Oregon State and Duke. The first varsity eight and second varsity four each claimed two wins to finish the day undefeated.

The second varsity four opened the morning session of racing, earning the first win of the day for the Buckeyes after posting a time of 7:20.20 to beat Michigan (7:32.70), Oregon State ‘B’ (7:50.48) and Oregon State ‘C’ (8:09.21) to the line. In the afternoon session, the second varsity four claimed its second win of the day and the first of three additional Buckeye wins, clocking a 7:21.36 to finish ahead of Michigan (7:25.96) and Oregon State ‘B’ (7:50.48).

The Buckeyes closed out the morning of racing in the first varsity eight, as the crew notched a time of 6:24.70 to post a first-place finish ahead of Stanford and Michigan. The first varsity eight closed the afternoon of racing as well, earning its second win after crossing the line in 6:24.50. Stanford took second place in 6:26.02 while Michigan took third place in 6:30.95. Oregon State finished the race in fourth with a time of 6:31.73 and Duke finished the race in fifth with a time of 6:38.96.

The first varsity four and second varsity eight also claimed wins for the Buckeyes.

IN THE RANKINGS

Ohio State continues to rank No. 2 in the most recent CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll, receiving three first-place votes. With their second-place ranking, the Buckeyes are currently the highest ranked Big Ten team followed by No. 10 Michigan and No. 15 Wisconsin. Iowa, Michigan State, Indiana and Minnesota are also in the mix, all having received votes toward the rankings.

RANKED OPPONENTS

Of the four opponents the Buckeyes have faced so far throughout the season, all four are currently ranked or receiving votes towards the rankings. Ohio State has posted a combined nine wins over these opponents.

SCOUTING IOWA

The Hawkeyes are racing in their first home regatta of the season Saturday, having previously competed at the 41st Annual San Diego Crew Classic April 5-6 and at Clemson March 22. Under the direction of new head coach Andrew Carter, Iowa placed second in the second varsity eight petite final, fifth in the first varsity eight Collegiate Cup race and sixth in the first varsity four Karen Plumleigh Cortney Cup race at the San Diego Crew Classic. At Lake Hartwell in Clemson, S.C., the Hawkeyes’ second varsity four placed first against Clemson, Buffalo, Duke, Kansas and Purdue while five out of six crews overall finished in the Top 3.

SCOUTING No. 19 LOUISVILLE

The Cardinals are racing in their third regatta of the season Saturday, as they previously competed at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational March 15-16 and the Pac-12 Challenge March 29-30. Louisville opened the 2014 campaign with six wins at Oak Ridge, earning victories in the first varsity eight, second varsity eight, first varsity four, second varsity four and third varsity four. The Cardinals followed that performance with a win in the second varsity four over No. 13 Stanford and a pair of wins (second varsity eight, second varsity four) over No. 18 Clemson at the Pac-12 Challenge.

STREAK SNAPPED

The Buckeye second varsity eight fell to No. 11 Stanford in the afternoon session at the Oregon State Classic, snapping its two-year regular-season undefeated streak. Prior to the loss Saturday, the second varsity eight had not lost a regular-season race since April 23, 2011.

The second varsity eight went undefeated during the 2012 campaign (9-0) and the 2013 campaign (8-0), also winning its first race of the 2014 season against No. 9 Michigan to compile an 18-0 record in regular-season competition dating back to March 24, 2012.

The Buckeye second varsity eight claimed an NCAA Championship and Big Ten Championship last year, ending the 2013 season with a perfect 12-0 overall record.

B1G BOAT OF THE WEEK

The first varsity eight was named Big Ten Boat of the Week, the conference office announced Tuesday. The weekly honor marks the second of the season for the Buckeyes as the second varsity eight earned the accolade April 1.

The crew of Stephanie Williams, Claire-Louise Bode, Eelkje Miedema, Ashley Bauer, Katie King, Elodie Ravera-Scarramozzino, Holly Norton, Catherine Shields and coxswain Victoria Lazur went undefeated at the Oregon State Classic, claiming two out of six overall wins for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State posted a time of 6:24.70 in the morning session to earn wins over No. 9 Michigan and No. 11 Stanford, also posting a time of 6:24.50 in the afternoon session to earn wins over the Wolverines, the Cardinal, No. 20 Oregon State and Duke.

Big Ten Boat of the Week

Second Varsity Eight – April 1

First Varsity Eight – April 8

2014 BOAT RECORDS

First Varsity Eight: 3-0

Second Varsity Eight: 2-1

First Varsity Four: 1-2

Second Varsity Four: 3-0

Third Varsity Four: 0-1

First Novice Eight: 0-1

Second Novice Eight: 0-1

NEW FACES

Madeline Davis joined the Buckeye coaching staff as an assistant coach in July 2013 after spending three seasons as the assistant lightweight women’s rowing coach at Stanford University. At Stanford, Davis assisted the Cardinal lightweight eight to three consecutive national championships, including a national title at the 2013 IRA National Championships.

Davis was a four-year varsity letterwinner, three-year member of the lightweight varsity eight and an Eastern Sprints and IRA Champion at Princeton.

A former Ohio State student-athlete (2009-12), Claudia Herpertz returned to her alma mater in the fall of 2013 as a Graduate Assistant after serving as an Assistant Coach for the Three Rivers Rowing Association (2012-13). Throughout her career at Ohio State, Herpertz earned Second Team All-Big Ten (2010), CRCA National Scholar Athlete (2010-12) and OSU Scholar-Athlete (2010-12) honors. She is currently working on a master’s degree in sport management at Ohio State.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Ohio State made program history at the 2013 NCAA Championships, winning its first national team title with 126 points after gold medal performances in the first varsity four and second varsity eight and a bronze medal performance in the first varsity eight. With the wins, the first varsity four claimed its second consecutive national title while the second varsity eight claimed its first. The Buckeyes became the first Big Ten team to win a national team title in rowing, and the first women’s team at Ohio State to claim an NCAA Championship.

BIG TEN CHAMPIONS

The Buckeyes captured their fourth Big Ten Championship in 2013, earning a championship record 160 points in the process. Five Ohio State crews claimed gold medals at the regatta as the first varsity eight, second varsity eight, first varsity four, third varsity four and first novice eight all tallied first-place finishes.

The Ohio State rowing team enjoyed a record-setting season in 2013, winning its first NCAA Championship as a team and claiming its fourth Big Ten Championship. Head coach Andy Teitelbaum and assistant Coach Diana Albrecht guided the Buckeye varsity crews to a 39-9 overall record in 2013, including a 9-3 mark in the first varsity eight, a 10-1 record in the first varsity four and a perfect 12-0 mark in the second varsity eight.

At the conclusion of the season, Teitelbaum was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, CRCA Central Region Coach of the Year and CRCA Division I Coach of the Year, while Albrecht collected CRCA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year and CRCA Division I Assistant Coach of the Year honors.

Claire-Louise Bode became the first Buckeye rower to be named Ohio State Female Athlete of the Year and the third to be named Big Ten Rowing Athlete of the Year, while Catherine Shields became the third Buckeye to be named a Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year.

UP NEXT

The Buckeyes travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., April 19 to compete against No. 3 Virginia and No. 9 Notre Dame.